Archives de catégorie : Video Marketing

Video marketing as a key component of your communications strategy

Video Marketing,

Is video marketing part of your member engagement strategy? It should be. Video marketing is quickly becoming the preferred method of communication to reach your membership. Video production is attainable for credit unions of all sizes and a preferable way of communicating with a large portion of your membership.

For many years, video production required time, resources, and expenses, which are luxuries that many credit unions, did not have. Use of the medium often involved hiring a professional film crew, working many painstaking months to get the script just right. After all, the shelf life of the corporate video had to be at least a year or more after spending a significant chunk of the budget on it. Once done, it was loaded onto YouTube to live out its days as a link.

The scenario is far different today. This once exclusive medium is now the darling of media and communications, as access to creating and viewing media, has vastly improved. Contributing to the popularity is the ease of integration on the Internet and various social platforms. As mobile usage outpaces desktop viewing, video has become increasingly easier way to convey a message on the small screen. Your members find it easier to view information than to read, especially on mobile devices, and that’s where video is outpacing all the other marketing formats. According to Syndacast, 74% of all Internet traffic in 2017 will be generated by video, and that figure will only continue to increase. Cisco Visual Networking Index estimates 80 to 90% of all global internet traffic by 2019 will be due to video sharing, up from 64% in 2014.

The appeal of video today is powerful. Studies show that just putting the word “video” in the subject line of an email will increase open rates by 19%, click-through rates by 65% and reduce the dreaded un-subscribes by 26%, as reported by Huffington Post. Social media sites report similar success. According to Twitter, videos and photos get the most retweets, and Facebook video viewership has more than doubled increasing engagement on every level. We live in a very visual world and response rates support this leaving viewers wanting for more.

Video media also has incredible benefits in boosting your credit union site’s SEO. Google owns YouTube and because of this, your channel’s videos will help increase its ranking. YouTube videos can boost Internet search abilities, especially when combined with keywords and tags. As far as content goes, this medium really pulls its weight.

Video is a very affordable and cost effective platform to connect with younger audiences such as Millennials. Eighty-nine percent of Millennials cannot live without YouTube or digital video, according to Google. This group is shifting away from traditional TV at a very fast rate, preferring online sources to view information and consume content “on demand” and at their convenience.

We live in a multi-screen world. People rarely gather around a single device, such as a television, and pay undivided attention. Your members’ interest is simultaneously divided between a television, tablet and smartphone, among other technology. It is crucial to tell your credit union’s story across as many channels as possible, primarily with a mobile first focus. Video is an affordable and engaging way to meet your messaging goals across these platforms. The creation of videos to accompany your marketing efforts is not out of reach. Evolving technology can allow your credit union to directly message your membership with video.

It’s time to embrace video as part of your marketing toolbox as traditional methods of messaging don’t always tell the whole story or reach all of your desired membership. Bring the viewer on the brand journey that will prompt them to act. Video is a great way to leverage your brand, educate your members about your credit union, and as a lead generation tool to help convert viewers. Either way, video has evolved into a technology that consistently finds new ways to target members and build that audience connection with your brand.

The Pitch: Advertising and marketing news for 10.25.16

Video Marketing,

Ndp created an ad for Lemaire in local and state publications.

Ndp created a digital and print ad for Lemaire that is running in local and state publications. The ad presents a digitally created historical marker for Lemaire, likening the Jefferson Hotel restaurant to a historic landmark and inviting visitors to “taste history in the making.”

Torx is working with Quin Rivers, a community action nonprofit based in New Kent County, to redesign its website, refresh its logo and update its print collateral. The agency is also building a new website for Augusta County Economic Development Tourism and redesigning the website for Virginia Transportation Construction Alliance.

PadillaCRT promoted Jeff Wilson to vice president for business development and agency marketing.

AuthX worked with United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) to create an awareness video on Facebook that went viral with more than 7.5 million organic views and 133,000 shares a week after it was posted. The agency consulted on the script with Australian-based filmmaker Damien Toogood and led the effort with UNOS and Publicis North America to create a clip designed to stand out in Facebook feeds. Several versions of the video were also launched via Facebook video ads to reach a wider audience.

PadillaCRT promoted Jeff Wilson from senior director to vice president for business development and agency marketing, Samantha Cox from senior account executive to account supervisor, and Catie Frech from assistant account executive to account executive.

Lythos Studios was hired by the Mosby4Mayor campaign for media buying, audio and video production, and digital advertising campaign management. The campaign included radio ads that drew local media attention for attacking fellow candidate Joe Morrissey. Lythos had previously been working on the Bruce Tyler for Mayor campaign.

Several other local firms worked on campaigns for this year’s Richmond mayoral candidates. Marion Marketing, 903 Creative, TPOT and MadBox worked on ads for the Jack Berry for Mayor campaign, and Maples Media Group provided web services for the Mosby campaign.

Think launched a new website for Dawn Roy Real Estate as part of a cohesive brand rollout and marketing strategy. Work included establishing the Realtor’s overall online presence. Think is also providing all of the creative work for Georgetown Day School’s Annual Fund campaign. The agency has produced marketing collateral for the fund going on three years.

Think launched a new website for Dawn Roy Real Estate.

Workshop Digital is working with men’s retailer Ledbury on paid search, social media and display marketing efforts.

Smuzi, a marketing and design firm based in Brazil, announced it is opening a U.S. office in Richmond. The firm focuses on web design, graphic design, branding, video production, animation and social media management.

The Brandcenter held an inaugural alumni summit as part of its ongoing recognition of its 20th anniversary. Alums from nearly all of its graduating classes participated in the three-day summit, which brought graduates and students together for professional development and networking opportunities.

Brandcenter students Yanci Wu and Limah Taeb were among five recipients of this year’s Helen Lansdowne Resor Scholarship, awarded by New York-based agency J. Walter Thompson to recognize female creative leaders. Originally from China, Wu, who earlier this year won a Future Lions award at the Cannes Lions International Festival for Creativity, was recognized in the Asia Pacific category. Taeb, a first-generation Afghan-Muslim-American, was recognized in the North America category.

Russian Online Video Service Tvzavr to Launch in U.S.

Video Marketing, , , ,

The launch is planned for Oct. 27, ahead of the American Film Market.

Tvzavr, one of Russia’s leading online video services, will launch in the United States on Oct. 27 with a presentation at Los Angeles’ ArcLight Hollywood movie theater.

The event will also be part of the Russian Cinema Week in Los Angeles.

Preparing for the U.S. launch, Tvzavr has recently upgraded contracts for its content to ensure it has global rights and is negotiating with Hollywood majors about offering their fare in dubbed or subtitled Russian version in the U.S., according to Russian industry journal Booker’s Bulletin.

More than 5,000 Russian live-action and animated films and television series will be made available to users in the U.S. The company is also launching an app for mobile devices, Russian Cinema.

Tvzavr will be mostly targeting Russian speakers living in the United States.

« For many people, our service will be one of the opportunities to come in contact with the culture of our country, » Marina Surygina, general director of Tvzavr, was quoted as saying by Booker’s Bulletin.

Launched in 2010, Tvzavr had an average monthly audience of 15 million last year and is one of Russia’s largest and most popular online video services. The service’s most popular local titles include Nikita Mikhalkov’s Sunstroke, Alexander Nezlobin’s Bridegroom and Zhora Kryzhovnikov’s Kiss the Bride 2.

 

How to create a better online video ad experience

Video Marketing, , , ,

More video is being consumed online than ever before. According to some of the latest stats Facebook now receives 8 billion video views per day, while Cisco has predicted that by 2020 80% of the world’s mobile data traffic will be video.

That’s no doubt music to the ears of those of you in the publishing, advertising and marketing industries, all of whom are turning to video more and more as a way to drive your businesses forward.

However, while the majority of video revenue is still ad-supported, it is a model increasingly under threat from a growing tide of consumer resentment towards bad online advertising experiences – as evidenced by the rapid rise in the use of adblocking technologies.

As the quality of digital video content increases – so too do the expectations placed on the related ad experience.

All too often however consumers are faced with viewing the same irrelevant ads time and time again, watching content fail to load or buffer repeatedly, and receiving an inconsistent experience across their devices. Sound familiar?

At Brightcove we believe that consumers absolutely have the right to avoid broken, annoying and intrusive ad experiences, but at the same time companies have the right to monetise and promote the content they put a lot of money into producing.

The question is – how do you marry the two?

The answer lies in striking a balance between these two rights – providing ad-supported content that gives businesses a way to monetise the content they make, whilst prioritising the customer experience.

With this balance in mind, we’ve outlined four key areas which can assist in building better ad-supported user experiences.

Choice to serve, choice of journey

In their race to make the most of consumers’ attention, it seems to be the trend for publishers to serve ads against any type of video – without pausing to think about whether the content and audience is right for the ad in question. As owners of the ad, you need to force this pause.

For a variety of reasons, there will be videos that should not have an ad placed in front of them under any circumstances – no one wants to see a holiday ad run before news on a natural disaster for example, and there is an argument against serving ads on any type of online video content aimed at children (see last year’s media cycle around ads on the YouTube Kids channel).

To pursue a more responsible form of advertising those in the online ad business need to work closely together to set and enforce strict parameters around their ad content – this could be as simple as turning off the economic model for a particular video if the tag doesn’t match the ad content.

Choice also relates to the type of in-ad experience you offer up – an increasing number of publishers and marketers are experimenting with interactivity as a way of making ads more engaging or at the very least tolerable.

By offering consumers the ability to choose their own content paths, you are not only ensuring that the content they see is more relevant to them but can also win their favour by exchanging their interaction with a smaller (but hopefully more effective) ad load.

The idea of personalising the ad experience takes us to the second area for potential improvement – targeting.

Targeting individuals, not personas

How many times in the last month have you been served an online ad which had absolutely nothing to do with you, or the content you were watching? Exactly! I am hardly likely to engage with an ad about a female fashion brand, just as others wouldn’t be interested in an ad about a trip to Mars.

The more engaged your viewers are however, the more data they generate – and feeding those data insights back into the creative process to ensure the next ad served is personal to them is key to further improving the consumer ad-experience.

Increasingly, we are seeing brands turn to programmatic video advertising – an automated process of media buying – as a proven way to efficiently target their message to the right consumer.

In comparison to traditional video advertising, which involves buying ads in bulk and casting a wide net in the hope of hitting those in your perceived target audience, programmatic enables a much more granular form of targeting by both audience characteristics (age, gender, geography, interest etc.) and, more importantly, behaviour.

It is not enough to run the tests once and then sit back contentedly. This testing process should be continual – part of your content platform and strategy at all times

Ads are only served at those who are most likely to be interested – saving both your ad budget, and the frayed patience of consumers.

Programmatic advertising also offers the benefit of being highly measurable – particularly when compared with TV advertising – which should be a great deal of help for the next time you discuss budgets with the business. 

Technologies that deliver

Serving up engaging, interactive, personalised content is only half the battle however. The real victory rests on its delivery – which needs to be faster-loading, smoother, and a more linear TV-like ad experience than ever before, whether your ad lasts for three seconds or thirty.

One of the best ways to ensure this type of experience is through the use of Server Side Ad Insertion (SSAI), a technology which allows for the insertion of ads via the cloud directly into the video stream.

This method of stitching ads into the content on the server side, and delivering both the content and the ads as one seamless stream to the viewer, not only avoids ad-blockers, allowing unobtrusive monetisation (a big plus for marketers) but also stops irritating buffering or stream breaks (a big plus for consumers).

There are also a number of other industry standards and technologies that marketers and advertisers need to be aware of when it comes to improving the online ad experience:

  • VAST 4.0 – The Video Ad Serving Template, or VAST specification sets a standard for communication requirements between ad servers and video players. It tells the video player what it is supposed to do when receiving a VAST-formatted ad response from an ad server: what video ad should be played; how it should be played; and what should be tracked while it is playing. In particular, the latest VAST iteration – 4.0 – is going to standardise the use of SSAI within the industry
  • HTML5 VPAID 2.0 – HTML5 VPAID 2.0 is a relatively new video format, which – unlike its predecessor Flash – allows great cross-platform interactive advertising experiences. With more marketers wanting to get their interactive ads in front of mobile viewers (I’ll refer you back to the Cisco stat here) this format is of vital importance

Key to any of these new technologies and formats, will be their ability to give brands concrete knowledge of whether their ad is being served properly.

Until now this has been an area of dangerous disconnect along the content chain, which has been further exacerbating the frustrations of consumers and leading to wasted ad experiences for brands.  

If you are not sure whether your content is already in VPAID 2.0, or which side your ad insertions are happening, these are definitely questions you should be asking your player provider and content host.

A/B testing

Outside of the technical format and delivery options, there are a whole host of other variables that may factor into the success or failure of an ad experience. And the only way to narrow these down is to test and retest them until you have a finely tuned ad machine.

We always recommend conducting testing with a 1% sample of your audience – examining how they react to your ads at certain times, in certain locations on the page, in certain formats or when offered certain content choices. From this, you can decide which consumer experience is most likely to yield the best results.

It is not enough to run the tests once and then sit back contentedly. This testing process should be continual – part of your content platform and strategy at all times.

A call to action, not to arms

There are always going to be lousy ads out there – and while adblockers offer consumers a short-term filter for irritating content, they don’t offer a long-term solution to the underlying issue of poor ad experiences.

The good news, however, is that adblockers are providing the industry with a call to action to redefine the ad-supported online video experience.

Adblocking signals an opportunity for publishers, marketers and advertisers to improve video experiences across mobile, desktop and TV in order to engage audiences.

The rewards for those who get it right could be huge, so isn’t it about time you gave your video ad strategy a refresh?

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Video Marketing Gets Evolutionary

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There are so many quotes about change, but this is one from Ben Franklin is one of my favorites: “When you’re finished changing, you’re finished.”

To help us all embrace change, the forthcoming November issue of Real Estate magazine will feature a new column titled ‘Innovations.’ While we interview dozens of real estate professionals each month, who enthusiastically share so many details about their paths to success, we wanted a dedicated spot in the magazine to zero in on some of the really innovative ideas we hear about every day. Why? Because innovation is what sets your firm and your agents apart with today’s highly judicious, review-driven, technology-centric consumers.

In our inaugural Innovations column, we spotlight Decker Bullock Sotheby’s International Realty—a top brokerage in swanky Marin County, Calif., with nine offices and 180 agents—that recently rolled out the red carpet to bring video marketing to a whole new level.

While the use of video in real estate marketing is certainly not a new idea (although it has yet to be adopted by real estate professionals as extensively as it should, in my opinion), Decker Bullock Sotheby’s certainly raised the bar with its latest project: 14 short films crafted together with Evoker, a Chicago-based multimedia branding agency. The films premiered Monday, Oct. 3, at the iconic Lark Theater, complete with red carpet arrivals, popcorn and a champagne reception.

The agent-focused films were made over the course of six weeks and aimed to create a visual connection between a selection of the brokerage’s associates and their future clients. From traveling the world to charity work to sailing on the San Francisco Bay, the films spotlight the lives of agents, making a human connection with prospects and, therefore, subconsciously building trust. Film posters displayed outside the theater conveyed the message: “We live in a place unlike anywhere else, where every home has a story. So do we.”

“Our clients expect service,” says Kevin Daniel Dwyer, creative director of the brokerage. “They want trust and they value discretion. We are leaders in technology integration, but that’s not enough. We’re in the service business. These films are another tool offered to our forward-thinking agents and discerning clients. They’re also works of art, which deserved a grand stage. Our film premiere was the first of its kind in real estate and we’re immensely proud of that.”

“First of its kind” is about as innovative as you can get. As Travelocity and Kayak founder Terry Jones says, success is all about innovation. “What got you here, won’t necessarily get you there,” he adeptly explains. “You don’t necessarily need to know how to do it; you just need to know that you have to do it. In real innovation, being comfortable isn’t good. You have to be uncomfortable.” If you’re attending RISMedia’s 21st Annual Power Broker Dinner on Nov. 4, you’ll get to hear more great wisdom from Jones.

Check out the films from Decker Bullock Sotheby’s below and let us know how you are moving forward with innovation.

This was originally posted on RISMedia’s blog, Housecall. Visit the blog daily for housing and real estate tips and trends.

Mossoul : record de raids aériens de la coalition contre l’État islamique

Video Marketing,

La coalition antidjihadiste menée par les États-Unis a mené une vague sans précédent de raids aériens pour soutenir l’offensive irakienne destinée à reprendre la ville de Mossoul au groupe État islamique (EI), ont indiqué des responsables américains lundi. Une semaine après le début de l’opération, « tous les objectifs [ont été] remplis jusqu’ici et [il y a eu] plus de raids aériens de la coalition que pendant toute autre période de sept jours dans la guerre contre l’EI », a déclaré dans un tweet l’émissaire américain auprès de la coalition, Brett McGurk.

« Il y a eu 32 raids avec 1 776 munitions contre des cibles de Daech (l’EI) pour la semaine du 17 au 23 octobre », a précisé le porte-parole de la coalition, le colonel John Dorrian, à l’AFP. John Dorrian a souligné que chaque raid pouvait viser plusieurs cibles sur une période de quelques heures. Ces raids « ont détruit 136 positions de combat de Daech, 18 tunnels que l’ennemi utilise pour se cacher et s’infiltrer au sein de certaines zones, et 26 voitures piégées entre autres cibles », a-t-il encore dit.

15 800 frappes depuis 2014

Le secrétaire américain à la Défense Ashton Carter était en Irak samedi et dimanche pour passer en revue l’opération militaire, la plus vaste dans le pays depuis le retrait des troupes américaines en 2011. Mossoul est le dernier grand fief de l’EI en Irak.

Les États-Unis mènent une coalition de 60 pays, dont font partie la France et la Grande-Bretagne, qui appuie les Irakiens sous la forme de milliers de frappes aériennes, de la formation de soldats irakiens et de conseillers sur le terrain. Selon des chiffres du Pentagone, la coalition a mené plus de 15 800 frappes depuis que l’opération a été lancée en août 2014 : quelque 10 200 en Irak et 5 600 en Syrie.

Steven Blaney sera candidat à la direction du Parti conservateur

Video Marketing,

Le député de Bellechasse–Les Etchemins–Lévis, Steven Blaney, s’est officiellement lancé dans la course à la chefferie du Parti conservateur dimanche, déclenchant du même coup la bataille de la Rive-Sud, qu’il livrera à son voisin de circonscription, Maxime Bernier.

C’était un secret de polichinelle depuis le dépôt de ses documents de candidature mercredi dernier, mais Steven Blaney tenait à officialiser le tout devant les siens, dimanche matin.



Maxime Bernier

«Mesdames et messieurs, attachez vos tuques avec de la broche, car je vous confirme aujourd’hui (dimanche) que je me lance dans la course à la chefferie, pour ultimement devenir le prochain premier ministre du Canada», a lancé M. Blaney à ses partisans réunis au Patro de Lévis.

Huitième candidat

Huitième conservateur à officialiser sa candidature à la chefferie, Blaney est aussi le deuxième député québécois à entrer dans la course, après Maxime Bernier. La possibilité d’une division du vote entre les deux voisins de circonscription n’inquiétait toutefois pas trop le nouveau candidat, qui entend bien rallier le fil d’arrivée en tête.

«Je vois ça d’un œil constructif […] Mais j’ai commencé la traversée et j’ai bien l’intention de me rendre à l’autre bout de la rive», a insisté celui qui a fait son entrée aux Communes en 2006. Il a malgré tout préparé le terrain pour un premier affrontement avec son homologue sur la question de la gestion de l’offre, que veut abolir Maxime Bernier.

«Mon choix est clair pour l’agriculture québécoise et canadienne», a souligné M. Blaney, qui affirme croire au modèle actuel. «Vive la gestion de l’offre et vive la production agricole canadienne», lançait-il à ses partisans quelques minutes plus tôt.

Identité en tête

Parmi les enjeux clés que veut aborder Steven Blaney dans cette campagne «constructive», la question de l’identité sera mise de l’avant. L’homme politique entend bien promouvoir son «canadian way of living».

«J’aurai la chance de l’expliquer au cours des prochains mois, mais les valeurs de liberté et de démocratie sont fondamentales dans notre société. Le combat des femmes doit être aussi maintenu», a affirmé l’élu qui prévoit une annonce en ce sens dès lundi.

 

Steven Blaney

  • Ancien ministre des Anciens Combattants, de la Francophonie et de la Sécurité publique

 

Maxime Bernier

 

Enquête sur une femme retrouvée inconsciente à Laval

Video Marketing,

L’homme et la femme ont été transportés à l’hôpital. Tous deux étaient dans un état critique.

Franco di Genova, porte-parole du Service de police de Laval, a confirmé lundi matin que l’homme pourra s’en tirer. L’état de la jeune femme demeure inchangé.

M. di Genova a ajouté qu’une voisine habitant au second étage aurait émis l’hypothèse qu’un bébé se trouvait également dans le logement. Cette information n’est toutefois pas confirmée.

La cause du drame demeure inconnue. Le porte-parole du Service de police de Laval a tout de même émis l’hypothèse que l’homme et la femme ont peut-être déjà formé un couple. Les enquêteurs parleront aux deux familles concernées afin de tenter de connaître les motivations de cette agression.

Lisez l’histoire complète sur CBC. 

10 Facebook Business Page Tips that Will Keep You From Screwing Up Your Marketing Efforts (Video)

Video Marketing,

As the largest social media site for small businesses, Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) likely plays a important role in your social media marketing strategy.

But how do you know you’re doing Facebook right? From building your business page to Facebook’s advertising platform, there’s a lot for a small business owner to figure out and the learning curve can be steep.

Happily, there are a number of ways to keep from screwing up and do Facebook marketing right. Ways like the 10 Facebook business page tips in the video above.

Start at the Beginning When Using Facebook Business Page Tips

You should approach Facebook marketing for your small business like you do any undertaking – start at the very beginning (it’s a very good place to start).

For example, after you create a Facebook page for your business, what’s the next step? It should be adding important business details to your page – details like your business’ name, contact info and web address. That may seem obvious however, many businesses miss this step, believing that the profile and cover photos are enough when neither gives Facebook the information it needs to add you to their search index by name or location.

After you’ve got those details squared away, it’s time to invite folks to like your page. Again, this may seem straightforward however, a Facebook friend does not a Facebook fan make. If they don’t fit your target audience, then you may want to leave them of the invitation list.

From there you need to figure out how often to post to your page, what to post in order to engage your fans and how to attract new fans from the millions of Facebook users whom you have not yet met.

Seems like a lot, but it’s all doable if you go one step at a time. Start today with the 10 tips in the video above.

Make sure to also check out the full list of 20 Ways to Avoid Screwing Up Your Facebook Presence.

Facebook Clothesline, Notifications, Contact Icons, You’re Invited, Wall Clock, Analytics, Cafe Fun, Interview, Friend Request, Rubber Stamp Photos via Shutterstock

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Are the Sounders putting on a sporting event, or a live Xbox infomercial?

Video Marketing,

Inside sports business

Fans attending the Sounders’ crucial season finale Sunday could be forgiven for thinking the home side’s players had become walking billboards for a video game company.

In fact, that was exactly the team’s intent behind having players don special Gears of War 4 jerseys while transforming CenturyLink Field into a giant theme park extolling the Xbox video game’s virtues. If you think that sounds crass and untraditional for a sports team, it’s probably just your age showing.

Nowadays, such “brand activation’’ marketing is becoming the norm for global companies such as McDonald’s and Coca-Cola. In a media landscape increasingly cluttered by content, brand activation brings a product to life for consumers by actively engaging them with it.

And where the business world goes, professional sports typically follow — some quicker than others.

The Sounders are the first Major League Soccer franchise — and among the only teams in North American pro sports — to use brand activation to this degree with a business partner’s product.

“The days of sticking a sign up in a building and paying millions of dollars a year for it are coming to an end quickly,’’ said Sounders majority owner Adrian Hanauer. “Partners of sports franchises want more creativity. They want more engagement. They want more multilevel, multifaceted components to a partnership that connect their brands with the essence and the emotions of a sports franchise.’’

The Sounders first wore the Pacific blue Gears of War 4 jerseys last month during a road game in Los Angeles. This time, in addition to the uniforms, the team opened six Gears of War 4 kiosks around the stadium where fans could participate in on-site gaming.

Fans could have pictures taken with various characters from the video game. For a fee, they could also have their Pacific blue Sounders jerseys embellished with the Gears of War 4 mark.

Sounders players dressed up in replica gear used by video game’s characters as part of promotional posters. Also, the team gave away Xbox-produced bobbleheads of retiring Sounders forward Zach Scott — wearing the special video game uniform, of course — to the first 20,000 fans attending the contest Sunday.

Microsoft, which owns the Xbox brand, remains a key Sounders partner. The team has donned Xbox jerseys since its inception and in 2014 renewed a partnership with the technology company through the 2018 season.

Hanauer says creating new ways to expand partner opportunities increases the likelihood of the team further extending such corporate deals at more lucrative rates.

Last year, the Sounders became the first MLS squad to change uniforms in-season by wearing jerseys with a Halo 5: Guardians video game theme.

Building an actual pro sports matchup around a video game likely will irk some fans. But considering the history of sports marketing, this isn’t exactly treading on holy ground.

After all, the Anaheim Mighty Ducks were created by Walt Disney Corp. in 1993 as a marketing extension of the Disney film of the same name.

Also, in-game ads have been encroaching on the playing fields of all sports for decades.

NHL traditionalists once cringed at any advertising along blank rink-side boards during the 1970s. Nowadays, barely an inch of white space can be found between corporate logos.

In Major League Baseball, the area behind home plate used to be sacred. Teams for 20 years now have sold ads on rotating signs that flip every half-inning to accommodate as many corporate partners as possible.

This decade, companies have taken to “virtual signage” seamlessly integrating ad images into stadiums and on playing surfaces that can only be seen by fans watching TV broadcasts.

Actual game uniforms had been an untouched ad frontier for North American pro leagues.

But last year, the NFL and Nike designed special Color Rush uniforms for teams playing late-season Thursday games. This year, all but two teams playing Thursdays will wear such uniforms.

Last spring, the NBA told teams it would allow them to sell small advertising patches on jerseys starting in the 2017-18 season.

The Sounders had their Halo uniforms last fall.

“I’m not aware of any top-tier pro sports team in the world that put a video game on their jersey,’’ said Aaron Greenberg, head of Xbox game marketing for Microsoft.

And now, the Sounders are taking the themed uniform thing further by building an entire event day around it. Greenberg said Microsoft wanted a marketing plan that was “different than just putting up signage’’ and could excite young fans about the video game.

“One of the things that we have in common with the Sounders is we’re talking to a lot of the same audience,’’ he said. “Whether it’s families — kids, or adults — that we know are buying the Xbox One console, or the wide variety of games we have, we have a lot of commonality across our audiences.

“Those are the folks going to the Sounders games in the stadium, that are watching the games on TV,’’ he said. “And so, to be able to pay a hot team like the Sounders and be able to associate it with a No. 1 type of video game right now … is just great timing.’’

It helped the marketing effort that pro athletes tend to play video games during down time. Sounders owner Hanauer said many of his players already were Gears of War gamers and didn’t exactly have to be dragged into promotional photo shoots.

“They were so into it,’’ he said. “Obviously, if you can get athletes that are engaged in a really authentic way and excited in your partner’s brand, that amplifies it more instead of them being contractually obligated to wear something.’’

And they’d best get used to it.

The way things are headed in the overlapping sports and business world, next month’s hot video game could wind up a part of next year’s championship victory lap.